Dear Jeff & Robin,
When I saw your email this morning it totally brought back our experience with Jeff! He was truly amazing. He made us feel sooo comfortable and Pamela still talks about the whole surprise and especially the photo shoot, we had a blast!!!
Pamela and I have been looking at our pictures for the past hour and we are relieving our special day all over again We are so happy with the final pictures. Jeff has done such an amazing job capturing our moment.

South Florida Food Photography featuring the cuisine of El Agave Azul Posted on October 26, 2013

As a South Florida food photographer, I always enjoy shooting all different types of cuisine, not just the food at weddings! For the grand opening (on October 26, 2013) of El Agave Azul in Davie, FL, I was commissioned to photograph some of their most popular dishes, seen in this post.

El Agave Azul is run by the Alarcon family, whose hometown is Monterrey, Mexico. The diverse menu they’ve created is comprised of home-style recipes reflecting their hometown. They use the highest quality ingredients and offer their cuisine at a reasonable price.

I really enjoyed photographing the colorful array of Mexican foods – and even got to sample a few dishes myself – delicious! The dishes offered include Tacos de Trompo, fie-corn tortillas with a beef-pork combo in a house marinade, and Northern-style campechana, with melted cheese, the tromp beef-port combo, carne asada, a slice of avocado in a flour tortilla. The Alarcon’s own two restaurants and both offer assorted Mexican beers as well as margaritas to complement the menu options. The varied menu also includes such Mexican favorites as tacos, coups, quesadillas tortillas, burritos and sopes.

As a food photographer, I appreciate the creativity this type of photography offers me. Completely different than other types of photography, the emphasis when photographing food is to create mouth-watering dishes that create appetite appeal. People should literally want to grab the food right from the picture and eat it! I love Mexican food in particular, as it offers delectable and distinctive flavors; it can be spicy, but not too spicy as well!

If you run a restaurant or food business and are in need of a food photographer, look no further. With many years of experience in this area, I always embrace new projects and opportunities to photograph different food items and cuisines. Whether for a printed menu, website or brochure, hiring a South Florida food photographer would be an excellent idea, as professional food photos make a huge difference in the perception and quality of the meals.

If you like Mexican food and live in the area, definitely check out El Agave Azul – they offer both take-out and dine-in to hundreds of customers daily. Many thanks to the Alarcon family and to JDOC Advertising for this great opportunity.

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Vanita and Bryan’s very colorful and festive destination wedding at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa. Here’s their wonderful story!

Vanita and Bryan met at the Eve of the Eve holiday party at Union Station in downtown Chicago on December 30, 2011. In Bryan’s words: “Vanita was walking back from the ladies’ room with some friends as I was on my way to the men’s room. She was absolutely gorgeous. I gathered up the courage to approach her and was able to convince me to give me her number. The next day we met for coffee. The day after we went to the Bulls game and the day after that I had orchids delivered to her. Later that same week, I took her out to dinner, asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes!”

Vanita’s story: “On December 30, 2012, we decided to go back to the Eve of the Eve. While at the party, it was announced from the stage that Bryan and I were the winners of a raffle prize. Completely surprised, I ran up to the microphone with Bryan. Once on stage, he explained that a week before, he had flown to Florida to ask my father’s permission to marry me. He then got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife and I said yes!”

From this incredible proposal, their magnificent wedding was planned at the magnificent Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa. For a large Indian wedding such as Bryan and Vanita’s, the sprawling Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa was a perfect location. With its spectacular views of the Atlantic ocean and its many ballrooms to choose from, the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa is an excellent choice for a South Florida destination wedding. Vanita and Bryan’s wedding took full advantage of all this venue had to offer, with their ceremony taking place outside overlooking the ocean. What a terrific experience for their guests as well! The inside rooms offered more than adequate space to host their large wedding event.

While photographing Vanita & Bryan around the Diplomat Hotel, I couldn't help but notice the awesome blue neon walls inside the gym. I couldn't resist this opportunity, and in no time we were taking pictures in the gym. Vanita's red Indian wedding sari was the perfect contrasting color against the gym's super cool walls.

Here are some details about Vanita and Bryan’s elaborate wedding fashions. Vanita and Bryan both had custom wedding ceremony outfits purchase at Saahil Boutique in Chicago. Vanita’s custom wedding reception outfit was from Studio Elite in Chicago and Bryan’s was from Brioni. The bride’s jewelry came from Devam in Boca Raton, Florida. Hair and make-up was created by Marz of Miami and Vanita’s hair clip was from Jill Zaleski Designs in Chattanooga, TN. The bride’s shoes were by Stuart Weitzman and the couples’ rings were from Trabert and Hoefer in Chicago.

The Diplomat Hotel has an expansive lobby that is the perfect location for family bridal portraits. The hotel features glass walls and a very large skylight on the atrium ceiling. With all this soft natural light streaming in, the hotel lobby is a great spot to create portraits that feature flattering lighting.

BELOW: This beautiful photo of Vanita was taken by our staff photographer "Liz". You can see more of her photography by looking under the gallery menu at the top of our website.

Outdoor oceanfront weddings with the Atlantic ocean in the background is one of the most requested spots brides and grooms look for when having a South Florida destination wedding. The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa delivers this and more - it is the perfect place to say "I do" with a perfect oceanfront location.

A wedding photographer photographing an Indian ceremony needs to be ready for anything. With so many interesting and unique traditions happening during the ceremony, there is no shortage of photo opportunities.

There are many small details and emotional moments to capture during a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. As a South Florida wedding photographer, I love to shoot such weddings, as they are rich with colorful traditions and make for absolutely incredible photos!

Vanita poses before the Indian wedding mandap set against a gorgeous Atlantic ocean backdrop. She is displaying the intricate henna work applied to her hands the day before.

The Westin Diplomat's ballroom was amazingly decorated for this event. The large ballroom used for this wedding was transformed from a blank slate into a dreamy reception room.

Ballroom decor looks even better when set against a spectacular ocean view!

Indian weddings often feature bright and festive colors. Vanita and Bryan selected different shads of pinks, reds and white for their flowers. Purple and yellow uplighting accented the room.

The night was non-stop fun and included traditional Indian dancing (see the 3 girls in the photo below.)

Yummy appetizers served to the lucky wedding guests.

A lavish dinner of steak and prawns followed. Better leave room for dessert!

The guests had a great time!

Vanita and her sorority sisters take a photo break. Weddings are always a great opportunity to see friends whom you might not have seen in a while. What a great reunion this was!

Vanita is a little embarrassed by something Bryan said during their speeches.

Toasts to the newly married couple!

Another lovely couple - Brittany and Allen. I photographed their wedding last year at the Ocean Reef Club and they sent Vanita and Bryan to us. Here Allen attempts to adjust the elephant's trunk to no avail.

The cake cutting!

We would like to extend our thanks to Vanita and Bryan for having us be a part of their special day. It was a great experience for our team and we congratulate the bride and groom to the fullest!